Local renewable energy advocates pushing for passage of clean energy bill

HARLINGEN — Local supporters of wind turbines and renewable energy are urging the South Texas congressional delegation to support a clean energy bill set for a vote today in the U.S. House.

The bill would set up framework for transitioning to clean energy and curbing global warming, said Ayleen Perez Marty of Environment Texas, a statewide environmental advocacy organization.

"This is the first time that Congress has ever voted on something like this."

On Thursday, Harlingen resident Chris Hamby hosted Perez Marty and members of the wind energy industry at his home to urge Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar, of Laredo, Solomon Ortiz, of Corpus Christi, and Ruben Hinojosa, of Mercedes, to support the America Clean Energy and Security Act, which is up for a vote today.

Opponents of the measure say its cap-and-trade restrictions could harm the nation's economy. Cap and trade is an approach to reducing pollution in which the government sets an overall cap on emissions and creates allowances that permit emissions up to the level of the cap. Companies are free to buy or sell allowances or "bank" them to use later.

A Wall Street Journal editorial Thursday pointed to a study by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C., that stated the bill would cap the amount of carbon that could be emitted nationally, and over the years the amount of carbon emissions permitted would be further reduced.

"As the cap is tightened and companies are stripped of initial opportunities to ‘offset' their emissions, the price of permits will skyrocket," according to the editorial. "The corporate costs of buying these expensive (carbon) permits will be passed on to the consumer."

Ortiz said Thursday through spokesman Jose Borjon that he was likely to vote against the measure.

Borjon said the congressman's office has been flooded with calls from people who are concerned about the cap-and-trade tax included in the legislation.

Ortiz represents a district with many low-income families, farmers and oil refineries that would be hurt by the cap-and-trade provision, Borjon explained.

Teno Villarreal, communications director for Rep. Hinojosa, said Thursday that the congressman had not decided how he would vote on the bill and would listen to both sides of the issue.

A spokesperson for Rep. Cuellar was not available for comment by press time Thursday.

Passage of the measure would bring awareness to "invaluable resources" such as wind, which can produce renewable energy and lead to less dependence on foreign countries for oil, Environment Texas' Perez Marty said.

"The bill will also provide money to state and local governments to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy," she said in a statement.

Wind turbine importer Rafael De Leon, who owns El Valle Wind Energy, said installing a wind turbine can cost more than $11,000, but people will see a return on their investment after three years of using renewable energy.

Hamby, the Harlingen resident, said he received a $4,000 tax credit for investing in the wind turbine in his yard. And in the two months that he has depended on energy from the turbine, he has saved about $200 in electricity.

He saved $60 the first month on a typical $120 electric bill, he said. The second month, he paid nothing for the electricity he used and instead received a credit for $12.

"Bottom line is we're going to run out of coal and oil in 20 years," Hamby said.

If Americans don't change to renewable energy now, he added, it will be even more costly to make the transition in the future.

If the bill becomes law, nearly 5,000 jobs will be lost in Rep. Ortiz's district when it goes into effect in 2012, according to the Heritage Foundation study of the measure, also known as the Waxman-Markey Bill. Another 3,600 jobs would be lost in the district between 2012 and 2035, according to the study.

Similarly, nearly 3,900 jobs would be lost in Rep. Hinojosa's district in the law's first year, the foundation says. Over the next 25 years, more than 2,800 jobs would be lost in the district, according to the study.

The study also states that by 2035, the Waxman-Markey legislation would cost a family of four $6,800 a year.

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Daisy Martinez is a reporter for the Valley Morning Star.